Writing Waikato: John Muir's contribution to environmental awareness

Abstract

John Muir was an experienced and widely published observer of both physical and social environments, Muir kept a record of his time in Waikato that is distinctive. His texts, both journals and correspondence, are of interest precisely because they are science embedded in a social and philosophical discourse. The details of formal observations are recorded: the plant species, the landforms, the heights and distances, and these observations are complemented by drawings. But much more is conveyed by Muir's language of reporting in his journal and correspondence, and the extent to which this language reveals his philosophy of environmental awareness and concern.